First of all, the author writes how the seemingly-eerie line “What’s in this drink?” was actually a standard joke when the song was created back in the ’40s. “The punchline was invariably that there’s actually pretty much nothing in the drink, not even a significant amount of alcohol,” writes the jazz fan (they weren’t as good at jokes back then).
The former English nerd then proceeds to flip the entire script on its headwhen he asserts that rather than being rapey and misogynistic, the song is actually about a woman exerting her sexual agency; She wants to stay the night but is worried about what people would say if she does (they weren’t as good at embracing female sexuality back then, either.)
“The woman in the song says outright, multiple times, that what other people will think of her staying is what she’s really concerned about. … But she’s having a really good time, and she wants to stay, and so she is excusing her uncharacteristically bold behavior (either to the guy or to herself) by blaming it on the drink — unaware that the drink is actually really weak, maybe not even alcoholic at all. That’s the joke.”
You must remember, this was back in the ’40s when women were supposed to act disinterested and protest sexual advances so they didn’t look like ~total ~harlot~. The man in offering her excuses she could use to avoid societal judgement.
FURTHERMORE, the author concludes, the song is “one of the best illustrations of rape culture that pop culture has ever produced” because it’s “about a society where women aren’t allowed to say yes…which happens to mean it’s also a society where women don’t have a clear and unambiguous way to say no.”
What do you think? Is “Baby It’s Cold Outside” still disturbing because it sounds disturbing, despite the fact that we can’t help but see it with 2017 goggles on? Do you appreciate Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski’s version or nah? One thing we can all agree on: The Pomegranate La Croix tastes like butthole. Don’t @ me.